God of our hearts,
We praise you for the wonder of our being,
for mind, body and spirit. We thank you for giving
us another opportunity to learn and grow.
Please help us to be safe, as we walk
through this challenging season.
Please send us your holy spirit so that, we
may achieve the objectives of our lesson. Make us
calm, and generous in reaching out to one
another.
Enlarge our vision, lessen our fears, and
bring us peaceful hearts. Hearts that know
Objective
• Enumerate the lines of
evidence that support plate
movement
World map
Activity on Continental Drift
1. What is the idea of Continental Drift?
2. Which 2 continents have the most obvious fit of the
coastlines?
3. How were the fossil symbols and mountain belts helpful in
deciding where to move the continents?
4. Why don’t the present shapes of the continents fit perfectly
into a
supercontinent?
5. Which fossil occurs on the most landmasses? What does
this suggest about when these particular continents broke up?
• What do the Glossopteris fossils tell us about the early positions of the
continents?
• If Glossopteris fossils were found in Antarctica, what was the climate of this
continent before?
• If the climate and the position of a place are relative to each other, where
then was the initial location of Antarctica 250 million years ago?
• What does the presence of Mesosaurus fossils tell about the initial location
and positioning of South America, Africa, and Antarctica?
• What clues are useful in reconstructing Pangaea?
• Which continents do you think were neighbors before?
• Is there a possibility that the current location of a continent would be
different 100 years from now?
• Where do you think was the Philippines located during the time that the
Pangaea existed?
Evidence that supports Alfred Wegener’s Continental Drift Theory.
1.The Continental Jigsaw Puzzle - The most visible
and fascinating evidence that these continents
were once one is their shapes. The edge of one
continent surprisingly matches the edge of
another: South America and Africa fit together;
India, Antarctica, and Australia matches one
another; Eurasia and North America complete the
whole continental puzzle in the north
The edge of one continent surprisingly
matches the edge of another
Evidence that supports Alfred
Wegener’s Continental Drift
Theory.
2. Evidence from Fossils - Fossils are preserved
remains or traces of organisms (plants and animals)
from the remote past. . Fossilized leaves of an extinct
plant Glossopteris were found in 250 million years old
rocks. These fossils were located in the continents of
Southern Africa, Australia, India, and Antarctica, which
are now separated from each other by wide oceans.
Fossils-remains of plants, animals and other living
things that have been replaced by rock materials on
impression of organism preserved in rock
Fossil linkages between south America, Africa
and Antarctica
Evidence that supports Alfred
Wegener’s Continental Drift Theory
3. Evidence from Rocks Fossils found in rocks
support the Continental Drift Theory. The rocks
themselves also provide evidence that continents
drifted apart from each other. From the previous
activity, you have learned that Africa fits South
America. Rock formations in Africa line up with that
in South America as if it was a long mountain range.
•
Evidence that supports Alfred
Wegener’s Continental Drift
Theory.
4.Past Climate/Coal deposits - Coal beds
were formed from the compaction and
decomposition of swamp plants that lived
million years ago. These were discovered
in South America, Africa, Indian
subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and even in
Antarctica.
Evaluate
• Enumerate the evidence presented by
Alfred Wegener that supports his
Continental Drift Theory. Give an example
for each.
• With numerous evidence presented by
Alfred Wegener that supports continental
drift theory, why was it rejected?
